I've found a TV channel that seems to be showing the whole back catalogue of the 'Crown International Pictures' production company and so far their output seems to have been pretty hopeless. THE PATRIOT is a cheap, poorly-cast action thriller that feels like an American Bond flick, with a loquacious cowboy taking on the role of the hero and some nondescript terrorists plotting to commit various atrocities.
Let's be honest here: this is poor stuff indeed, ineptly directed and with very tame and insipid action sequences. The real story seems to take forever to get going and when it finally does you wonder if it was worth it. The only thing this has going for it is a mini UNDER SIEGE scenario at the climax in which the hero and his buddies climb onto a ship populated by hijackers.
The erstwhile hero of the piece is played by the miscast Gregg Henry, better known to audiences for playing scuzzy characters in the likes of PAYBACK and SLITHER. Old timers Michael J. Pollard and Leslie Nielsen show up, the latter with such a deep voice that it sounds like he was dubbed. Everywhere THE PATRIOT is tame and predictable, and only huge fans of cheap 1980s cinema will get a kick out of it.
